And then I got to thinking about picklebacks, which I think were introduced to the London food and drink scene by BBQ masters, Pitt Cue.

A pickleback is a shot of whiskey chased by a shot of pickle brine – the sharp, sweet, herbed and spiced liquid that gherkins are pickled in and which is leftover in the jar once the pickles are gone.

So I had another go, adding a measure of American bourbon to the pickle juice. I also reduced the size of the pickle pieces, as whilst they look really cool, they’re not as lovely as the frozen juice itself. I didn’t do so well trying to make them into a smiley face…

Kavey’s Genius Pickleback Ice Lollies

Ingredients
Pickling juice from a jar of pickled gherkins
Bourbon or other whisky of your choice
Optional: finely chopped or sliced slivers of pickled gherkin

Method

Measure the capacity of your lolly moulds.

Measure your bourbon and pickling juice to ensure that the bourbon is 18-20% of the total volume. Any more and the lollies won’t freeze but much less and the balance of flavours won’t work.

Combine ingredients, pour into moulds and freeze.

PS I’m calling them Kavey’s Genius because, honestly, I think they’re one of the most friggin’ awesome ideas I’ve had lately! Pete, on the other hand, thinks they are crazy!

If we never experimented with flavour combinations, we’d never progress. It’s wacky, but the fact is, you had the idea and carried it though instead of never trying it! Even if half the population thinks it’s gross, you will now be hooked on flavour combinations. I’ll volunteer as a taster!

Whilst in Tesco this evening I bought a half bottle of whiskey. This stuff has not until today entered my home. Curse you woman.

Unfortunately my Tesco did not stock lolly moulds. So I thought I’d go with the liquid version first time around.

When I got home (not quite literally straight away you understand…..) I raided my cupboards for shot glasses, knowing full well I didn’t have any. Found the closest thing to it. My one and only ramekin and a tiny glass beer tankard, which I think was a container for some Austrian/German mustard which I bought and consumed about two years ago, serving now as an ornament in my porch. Washed that out to get rid of the dust.

One shot of whiskey, and a smaller shot of pickle juice down the hatch, I thought that was nice, but I think I got the pickle juice to whiskey ratio a bit wrong………. So then I had another one. This time more whiskey to pickle juice ratio.

Sublime, so many flavours bouncing around on the old tongue region! Heat, and then sour, and then a strangeness you can’t describe, and then the ‘boosh’ of alcoholic content, and peatiness…..aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!! My mouth and brain exploded both at the same time.

[…] Kavey convinced me not to waste the juice by turning them into frozen lollies (see her recipe for Pickleback Ice Lollies) The picture above reflects my pessimism about the whole thing. But as you can see from the empty […]

[…] from Ginger Pig 28 Dec 2012 Add comments Dec 282012 Back in summer I shared my Pickleback Ice Lollies with the world. The reaction was mixed, with some readers horrified by the very idea but one of […]